-Kiln Of The First Flame-
Tetsuro inspected his journal one last time, seated before the Lordvessel.
"Fully infused weapons include Murakumo, Silver Knight sword, Barbed sword, bastard sword, and my Dragonslayer Greatbow. Other infused weapons include my Bandit Knife, Battle Axe, Composite Bow, Avelyn as well as a normal crossbow, Painting Guardian sword, a pair of Caestus, Black Knight greataxe and halberd AND both sizes of their sword, a Great Scythe, Uchigatana and Iaito, a partizan, and Ricard's rapier."
He noted on the bottom of the page to continue looking for blunt weapons he had interest in such as hammers and great hammers. He also noted to look for a whip of some kind, a halberd, and perhaps a flail as well.
"I've fully strengthened and repaired my Elite Knight helm, my black iron gauntlets and boots, and my steel cuirass. So far, though, the only shield I have any real interest in is the Iron Round Shield. I'm forced to wear a Thunder Stoneplate Ring to offset how vulnerable to lightning this all makes me, but it fits under the gauntlet, so I don't have room to complain. Havel The Rock provided me with a ring that makes it possible to leap around with my heaviest gear at the ready at all times."
Tetsuro closed the journal and stood up.
"I can't imagine I've missed much in Lordran at this point. I can't be much more prepared for facing Lord Gwyn. After all, I've fought several Lords as it is, and he's severely weakened-"
"I don't advise you underestimate him," interjected Frampt, who heard Tetsuro speaking to himself aloud.
"And I don't advise you stick your nose in my business any further. I already told you that I'm not here to throw myself on the ritual pyre. I don't need anything from you lying serpents. Speak to me again and I'll make sure my purpose in this world includes devising a way to kill one of you. I'm sure such preparations would be equally as taxing as killing Lord Gwyn, making it all the more memorable."
Tetsuro closed the visor of his helmet, turned, and started down into the Kiln…
-Undead Burg-
"Why are we here?" asked Seiko, looking around and expecting Firelink Shrine.
"I wanted to visit the Altar of Sunlight before I go. I'm a Paladin for the Way of White now, but I was originally a Knight of Astora. I was raised to venerate Gwyn's lost son, a paragon of skill in battle, and a deity to rival his father."
Jinta and Seiko went up the nearby ladder, up some stairs, and started walking down a bridge.
"Gwyn has a lost son?"
"He was stricken from records and his statues broken. I'm not sure we ever knew why, unfortunately. Regardless, I am going because I believe Solaire may be here. If we were quick enough, maybe I can drop my sign and have him summon me so we can speak."
"Do you not worship Gwyn's lost son?"
"I did… Once… You have to understand, though I am a man of faith, what I believe in has always seemed slightly beyond my reach. Beyond my comprehension. Something tells me that these great powers I wield cannot simply be from speaking the correct words and believing they will do as I expect. Surely, the ancient Lords were powerful and worthy of respect. Fear, even. But they were mortal like us until they discovered the souls within the First Flame, as the stories seem to go. Why would worshipping them and telling their stories give me strength?"
"I don't understand the whole 'faith' thing, I guess. To me, that sounds like what others would tell you is heresy."
"Maybe it is."
"Then what makes you a powerful caster, and a Paladin?"
"I don't know."
"Then how can I understand if you don't?"
"Do you understand Pyromancy?"
"I think so?"
"Can you explain it?"
"Yes. Actually. I can. Quelaana said that her mother, Izalith, discovered the Life soul and was empowered with the ability to conjure and manipulate fire. She, in order to teach others, developed Fire Arts, along with her Daughters of Chaos, which they used to fight alongside the other Lords against the dragons. Izalith drew strength from her Lord Soul, but her Daughters used her brand of magic to control fires I can't even imagine. Pyromancy is a far cry from those abilities, and for a good reason."
"You think if Pyromancers could use Fire Arts there would be mass destruction?"
"I think that I can barely use just one and I'm afraid of it. I can use Chaos Pyromancy, which is the intermediary between Fire Arts and Pyromancy, and even that is terrifying. Fire Arts aren't like Pyromancy, which draws from the user's energy and are empowered by faith in oneself and knowledge of the technique. Fire Arts, now that I've used one, are almost like a will unto themselves. As if the flame is all around us, always, and Fire Arts just draw it into the shape the caster desires. I'd need to practice that all on its own in order to fully understand it."
"Then your Fire Arts are like my miracles."
Seiko tilted her head.
The two were now inside a transition in the Burg, near another bonfire and a closed gate.
"The power to use miracles is all around us, always. It is at my direction, in response to my words, that the energy moves. It entails both a physical and mental strain to properly use them, as you've seen. I can be tired out more easily by things like Lightning Spears, which I now believe to be closer to Pyromancy in execution, but my mind is more easily broken by things like healing."
"Where does that put people like Logan?"
"Sorcerers? Well, consider this: How have you been changed by Pyromancy?"
That gave Seiko pause. While she thought about it, Jinta walked over to a doorway, probably to put down his sign. He returned shortly after.
"I think studying Pyromancy has changed me, but I don't think using it has."
"I can agree with that. I have experienced both with miracles. But I have seen many mages driven mad by their quest for greater knowledge, and therefore greater power."
"I think I've seen an equal number of arcane users driven mad by their craft," said Seiko, expression deadpan and disapproving.
"Fair enough."
"Do you think I should pursue Fire Arts?"
Now it was Jinta who tilted his head, unsure how to answer.
"It's supposed to be a lost craft. The last ones to use it besides the Daughters were the Fire Sages, demons from Izalith's domain. I wish I knew how to… Oh!"
Before Jinta could question, Seiko used Rapport and showed him the visions Quelaana had shown her to teach her the Flame Tempest. Jinta only saw what happened, he didn't feel it like Seiko had. When it was over, Jinta took off his helmet and squeezed the bridge of his nose to fight off a slight headache.
"I think," he said after a pause, "That you ought to learn to do it. I'm not saying teach others. But only you and one other, if I remember right, were taught by Quelaana. Do you know if whoever that was also knows Fire Arts?"
"You mean Master Salaman? No, he didn't. Quelaana never said one way or the other, but I'm sure. She only showed me those visions because of how we helped her."
"How did you learn Fire Arts from a vision?"
"Are you joking?! The feeling! Those visions could teach any Pyromancer at least the basics! She never taught me anything that way before!"
"The feeling? You mean the emotional reaction to what you saw?" asked Jinta, confused.
Seiko seemed to deflate a bit.
"You didn't… It didn't feel like it was you doing those things?"
"Certainly not! I can't imagine wielding that kind of power on that scale! Burning an entire valley in concert?! Turning an entire arch tree into firewood by myself?!"
"Oh," said Seiko, obviously disappointed she couldn't mimic what Quelaana had done for her. "When she showed me, it was as if I became that caster. As if I were the one doing it all."
Seiko looked down at her palms and lit them aflame.
"I will never forget that feeling. You didn't see the whole vision, either. I won't show that to anyone…"
"Understandable."
Boots on brick startled Seiko out of her ruminations and she looked up.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I thought you two would be along shortly."
It was Solaire, actually connected with Jinta's world once more.
"Sorry, but I wanted to hear what she had to say," said Jinta.
"I must say, as unsettling as it is to have her around, she seems to have had quite the influence on you for the better."
"You think so?" said Jinta.
"Thank… You…?" said Seiko, conflicted as to whether she should just take the compliment.
"I can appreciate the talk, and the little I've heard has been interesting, surely, but we have a duty to uphold."
"Wait!" said Jinta, seeing Solaire reach for his belt. "Before you split us again, I had an idea!"
Solaire continued his motion, drawing his talisman, not his Separation Crystal.
"Oh? I've had one as well, actually. But, please, you first."
"I'd like for us to stay in the same world and take down Gwyn together."
"Great minds think alike, then. I was going to suggest the same."
"What was your reasoning?"
"That I could link the fire and leave you alive to search for a more permanent solution."
"That… Is a much better idea than mine…"
"What was your idea, then?" asked Seiko.
Jinta paused a moment, clearly apprehensive.
"For both of us to link the fire, so it would feed the fire twice as long."
Seiko and Solaire let the comment sit for a moment.
"I don't think that's how that works, Jinta," said Seiko.
"I would advise against that as well," said Solaire. "In any case, I wanted to teach you to use Great Lightning Spears before we travel to the Kiln. I suspected I would find you here."
"Actually, we came here looking for you," said Jinta.
"Yes," said Solaire, "I know."
Another long pause. Seiko cracked a grin, which Jinta figured was at his expense.
"Oh, shut up," he said to her, and put his helmet back on.
-Kiln Of The First Flame-
Tetsuro drew his Silver Knight sword and spun it in his hand, approaching the first Black Knight in his way. The Knight waited until Tetsuro was only a few steps away, then charged forward and slashed down with its massive sword. Tetsuro parried and stabbed the Black Knight high on its stomach, angled up. The Knight collapsed to its knees, so Tetsuro planted his foot on the its collar and pushed it off his sword. He stepped forward before it could recover and stabbed it through the head. It didn't get up.
As he approached the second Black Knight, one with an ultra-greatsword, Tetsuro sheathed his Silver Knight sword. As his hand moved away from his hip the sword and scabbard vanished, and he reached over his shoulder for a weapon that wasn't there. As he reached back, Murakumo appeared on his back, and he pulled it out to the fore. He rested the large curved blade on his pauldron as he approached. This Black Knight slashed horizontally at him after stepping in, so Tetsuro put up his shield and angled it so the blow would scrape by.
The Knight stepped in again and swung in the opposite direction, backhanded. Tetsuro dove over the slash, rolled, and came up in a slash of his own, pulling the long cutting edge of Murakumo across the Black Knight's frame. The cut stretched from the Black Knight's left thigh and buttock up to its right shoulder, a rent large enough to fit a gauntleted hand through. The Knight made a pained noise, but spun to the left and tried to hit Tetsuro with its shield. Tetsuro ducked the blow and slashed with Murakumo, up under the Black Knight's armpit. His attack cleaved from under the Black Knight's arm to its right collar, just before the shoulder, freeing the Knight's head from what remained of its shoulders.
The next Black Knight was on a thin walkway, and had a sword and shield like the first. Tetsuro watched it closely, but it made no motion to approach him. He put away his weapons and walked along the edge of the cliff he found himself near. There was no way further into the Kiln without a fatal drop from here or across the collapsing walkway. Once Tetsuro had walked as far as he could, up to a steep ash dune, he stopped. He reached back, and this time drew his greatbow and a single arrow. He anchored the bow between two bricks at the edge of this cliff, took aim, and fired. His arrow flew, impaled the Black Knight through the chest, and sent it careening off the side.
Tetsuro crossed the walkway without incident to the other side, where he found his way forward to be down a curving staircase on the outside of what appeared to be a large arena. He was close. Another Black Knight, this time with a greataxe, was coming up the stairs to intercept him. Tetsuro put away his greatbow and produced a bastard sword. The Black Knight took a running start and jumped, as high as Tetsuro was tall, to slam the axe down on Tetsuro's head. Tetsuro calmly sidestepped the attack and smashed his sword into the Black Knight's chest. He grabbed the blade of his own sword, slightly above the halfway point, and lifted with his right arm.
Using the hand-guard of his bastard sword, leveraging it under the Black Knight's shield-arm, Tetsuro toppled the Knight. The sword had little hope of cutting through the Black Knight's armor, but it worked perfectly well as a sort of crowbar to grapple an armored opponent. Once the Black Knight was on the ground, Tetsuro stabbed the Black Knight through the gap near its neck, still holding his sword halfway down the blade. He twisted, so the blade was vertical relative to the Black Knight's body, then yanked the blade upward with all his strength. The Black Knight's helmet was split in two, up the middle of its face.
Tetsuro drank Estus to revitalize himself, staving off exhaustion, and continued down the stairs, to the last Black Knight in the way. This one carried a polearm, so Tetsuro put away his bastard sword and drew his shield and battle axe. As Tetsuro approached, the Knight spun this bladed polearm over its head to build up momentum, then slashed it at Tetsuro on the second pass. Clearly, this one was very experienced with its weapon, sliding its hand up or down the haft as needed for good control. Tetsuro noticed this even as he blocked the strike, so he stepped in to gain an advantage.
The Knight body-checked Tetsuro rather than let him get in close and stay in. Cuirass met cuirass and Tetsuro bounced back. He very nearly stumbled as his heel hit the first stair, but he was able to keep his balance and find purchase with his other foot on the second stair. He quickly spread his feet out for a wider stance and was forced to block another swing of the polearm. As soon as the blow was clear, Tetsuro bulled forward and hacked low with his axe. The blow smashed into the Knight's thigh just under the guard of its shield.
Tetsuro kept his arm close to his body, using the twist of his hips and the muscles of his back to swing the axe home. The Black Knight very suddenly couldn't hold its weight on the damaged leg and couldn't fully bring its shield to bear. Tetsuro was inside the range of the polearm now, as well. He ripped the axe free and started chopping his enemy down with vertical strikes, hitting the shoulders, head, and chest. The Black Knight crumpled under the blows and faded away like the others…
Three sets of boots crunched into the ash that covered the Kiln like snow. Solaire had already drawn his sword and shield, Jinta was now equipped with two arming swords and his talisman, and Seiko remained unarmed. After some planning, however, Seiko finally had hopes for a weapon. Both Jinta and Solaire knew they would be facing Black Knights, which were storied for their loyalty to Lord Gwyn, even to the point of being scorched by The First Flame when he linked it. It had been Solaire's idea that Seiko put her incredible strength to the task of wielding a Black Knight weapon, large and heavy - too heavy for a typical warrior.
As the three approached the first Black Knight, Solaire stepped up first and Jinta began strafing to the right. He drew his two straight swords, twin blades that were crafted for adaptability and blessed for stability. His wealth of souls since traveling with Seiko meant he no longer had to work with just what he could find, after all. Seiko stayed back, well aware that Black Knights cared little for her Pyromancy unless she was willing to use Chaos flames or Power Within. Right now, she knew that would only tire herself, and by extension Jinta, in a time where they needed to endure to the end of a very simple path.
"I've been here already to look around. Follow my lead and be careful. We can't be wasting Estus or miracles. We have a numbers advantage, so let's use it. These Knights are only here to fend off invaders."
"Clearly," said Jinta, always watching the first Knight, who watched him instead of Solaire.
"We knew this wouldn't be easy," said Seiko. "They don't know what I'm capable of, anyway. I'm unarmed."
"Of course," said Solaire. "For now. Just like we planned. When you're ready, Jinta."
Jinta kept strafing to the right, but now he started slowly approaching the Black Knight as well. As he got closer and further to the side, the Knight turned and took two large steps forward before slashing down at Jinta. It quickly found a sword thrust under its right arm by Solaire. Solaire twisted his body and ripped the sword out, carving a rent in the Black Knight's chestplate. The Knight slashed backhanded at Solaire, who blocked the strike. Jinta slashed the Black Knight's back open with several strikes.
The Black Knight fell and spun, carried by the momentum of its own attack, before fading away on the ash. It left behind only its weapon, shield, and a chunk of titanite. Seiko approached and picked up the sword, a normal weapon for the large Black Knights, but definitely a two-hander for a human. Seiko held it up with one hand and swung it about like it were a cheap replica.
"Too light, I take it?" said Jinta.
"Definitely. I could manage with this, I think, but it's really not comfortable at all. This feels… I dunno, like something I would slap a friend around with. It just doesn't seem heavy enough to really hurt someone."
"You are aware, I imagine," said Solaire, "That it is quite heavy and deadly to either of us, as well as yourself if you should be hit by one."
"I know, I'm just trying to help you understand how light it feels. No matter how much I swing this, I won't train my strength at all."
She threw it into the air and caught it when it came down, spun it about, flipped it end over end, and all without the slightest effort showing in her form or on her face.
"I hope their greatswords are better than this. I might need to swing two if they aren't much heavier…"
Solaire looked at Jinta after hearing that. Jinta correctly interpreted that as concern.
"She's always been strong," he explained. "I don't think this has anything to do with the Abyss. It's hardly even there, really."
"That's not true!" "That's not true…"
Both Seiko and Solaire said it at the same time. Solaire had been insistent, but Seiko said it as if she were going to clarify, her voice turning up at the end.
They looked at each other, but Solaire stayed quiet, so Seiko explained.
"It influences my Pyromancy a lot. Since I've been affected by the Abyss, physical Pyromancy seems to be innate. The heat of the fire hasn't changed, but my blasts carry their own physical force now. They aren't just magical containers that light stuff on fire, like I was used to throwing. I know how to make Pyromancy physical, though not to the degree of Izalith with her fire claws. I just don't need to now."
"And you're sure that it hasn't done anything else?" asked Solaire.
"Pretty sure. At least from what I know about myself, I guess."
Seiko stabbed the Black Knight sword into the ash and left it. The group moved forward.
The second Black Knight held a greatsword, something clearly made for its size and never intended for a human. Seiko held up a hand to have the others stay back and she moved in. The Black Knight put up its shield and approached its unarmed foe with caution, no fool. It tried to shove Seiko with the shield when they got close enough together. She leaned back and slipped past it on its left, her right. The Knight swung the shield behind it, spinning to face her. Seiko ducked and stepped to the side, quickly grabbing for the Black Knight's sword-arm.
The Black Knight kneed her in the stomach, then the face as she doubled over. Seiko stumbled back, bleeding and dazed. Solaire appeared between her and the Knight to block, while Jinta was in front of him to slice through the Black Knight's follow-up slash with its massive blade. Jinta cut off the Black Knight's arm just under the elbow. Its weapon still flew downward, where Solaire blocked the hit and shucked the sword off his shield to the side.
While Seiko recovered and healed herself, Solaire and Jinta made quick work of the disarmed Black Knight. When they were done, they came to see what her reaction would be to the Black Knight's greatsword, really an ultra-greatsword for a human.
"You seem to regularly underestimate your enemies and overestimate yourself," observed Solaire. "Even with your experience, your movements aren't well thought out, even if they are agile."
Seiko picked up the huge sword and didn't say anything at first.
"You're probably right," she said, thinking back, "But it's not like we've had time to stop and train me in weapons combat. I've always been able to either punch something to death or use Pyromancy. I guess, once this is over, I'll need some real training."
She lifted the end of the Black Knight Greatsword off the ground and held the full weight. By the look on her face, both Jinta and Solaire knew she was surprised. She slashed the thing about with one hand just as easily as the Black Knight was, but it didn't seem unusually fast or easy for her to do so.
"Now this is a sword."
"How's the weight?" asked Jinta.
"I think I could wield two if I had to, but that would take a lot of training, since such a big thing would get in the way a lot. I'm not sure I can use even just this thing in a tight hallway. But it'll be great to hang on to. I'll have to carry it, but it's worth it for a weapon I can use, finally."
"We've still got Black Knights to fight," said Solaire. "You've got the chance to at least get used to it before we reach Gwyn."
"True. Let's go, then! I'll take the next one. And don't help me, this time. If I die, I die. The Lordvessel is just above us, anyway. I'll run and catch up before you two fight Gwyn."
Tetsuro slashed the air with Murakumo to clear the blood from it. He rested the curved greatsword on his pauldron, regarding the dwindling First Flame unobstructed before him. He looked down at the husk of a Lord, slain at his feet. He put away his weapons and inspected his battered armor, opened his visor to drink Estus and heal his wounds, and turned away…
Seiko's first experience with her weapon was a short one. The next Black Knight stood guard on a thin walkway. She approached, it attacked, she dodged, and smashed it off the walkway to its death in one sweeping strike. What almost defeated her was a chip in the side of the walkway she hadn't noticed. She slipped, started to fall, and used the Abyss as chains to attach herself to the walkway.
Jinta ran out to help her, but by the time he was there to help, Seiko was scrambling back up onto solid ground. Solaire stayed back on the ash until he was sure Seiko had taken all the Abyss back into herself. Seiko didn't bother to wait for him, looking back, rolling her eyes, and moving on. Jinta waited up for him before the two jogged ahead after Seiko.
They reached the curving staircase on the outside of Gwyn's arena to see Seiko already engaged with another Black Knight. This one held a greataxe, which Seiko's new sword was currently dead-locked with. The Knight had swung down, she slashed up, her sword slid up the shaft, and locked under the gilded wings that were the blades of the axe. As they watched, Seiko feigned weakness, then twisted to pin the Black Knight's axe to the ground under her sword, clearly overpowering it. It tried to bash her with its shield, so she freed one hand from the handle of her sword to catch the blow.
Seiko kicked out the Black Knight's left leg, freed her sword, and cleaved into it from shoulder to the middle of its chest. She took a pivoted step back and ripped the sword out, slashing her cut larger and freeing the blade. As the Black Knight faded out, Seiko took her right hand off the handle of her sword and rested the blade on her shoulder. She turned to her allies.
"I'm going to take a wild guess and say neither of you could retrieve that axe for me to try later, right?"
Solaire sheathed his sword, put his shield on his back, and picked up the axe. He didn't seem terribly troubled by the weight, but it clearly wasn't his kind of weapon. Like Tetsuro, he somehow hid the axe behind his back and it vanished. He drew his sword and shield again.
"I'll be sure to pass it on to you if we win," he said.
The three proceeded down the stairs to face the last Black Knight. Again, Seiko stepped forward, insisting the other two save their strength. As soon as she began her fight, not two swings of their weapons in, Seiko was taken by surprise. Heavy boots hit bricks behind her and to the left, and she glanced back to see another Black Knight with a greatsword raising his blade. She looked back at her original opponent, stepped in, and blocked to her rear and left blind. Blade met blade and Seiko caught the haft of the a Black Knight polearm.
Jinta and Solaire started down the stairs before Jinta stopped them both. He could feel the heat from Seiko using Power Within before he could see the steam rise from her body. Seiko pushed up on the polearm and bent low. She spun in place and swept her sword in a large circle around her. Both Knights blocked the attack, but were pushed back.
"Fabled knights and you can't handle one warrior who's never swung a sword before?!" Seiko goaded, slamming the end of her sword down on the bricks and holding it with just her left hand.
Solaire pointed up. He spoke just to Jinta first.
"Knights that were patrolling the Kiln are approaching. I don't think they're just going to let us kill Lord Gwyn and walk in. We need a plan."
"I have a plan," said Seiko, who could hear him thanks to Power Within's amplification.
"You two get in there and I'll hold them off. I can keep this up for quite a while - longer if Jinta gives me Bountiful Sunlight before he goes in. And I can collect some weapons! I can always jump in to help if I manage to kill them all!"
She called all this out to them while defending herself, but not counterattacking to focus on staying safe while talking.
Jinta and Solaire looked at each other.
"I say we go," said Jinta immediately.
"No time to argue," said Solaire.
The two rushed down the stairs and slipped by with little issue. As soon as they were in and clear of the entryway, there was an explosion above and behind them. The two knights from Astora spun to see Seiko with a smug look on her face, shadowed by her hood, disappear behind a pile of rubble. A good blast of Pyromancy into the side of the arena effectively kept the Black Knights from reaching the inside…
And trapped Jinta and Solaire in with Lord Gwyn to succeed or die.
A/N: Thanks to Lindybeige on YouTube for his many videos on weapon combat. Tetsuro has been made more realistic thanks to those videos, and the change is made somewhere in the middle of this chapter. This only pertains to specific weapons or tactics he uses. Dark Souls is, and has always been, unrealistic for the sake of fun and game design. There will always be slashing weapons that cut through plate armor and unrealistic maneuvers with weapons for the sake of the spectacle in this story. It's fanfiction based on a game.
Also, Seiko used what I think is the first appearance of "weapon arts" in this fanfiction in her last fight there. The Cathedral Knight Greatsword's art is one of my favorites from DkS3, and it seemed a good place to have someone use it. If anyone does in the future, it's likely to be Tetsuro MAYBE one more time in the series, which is a shame...